A Model of Demand for News: Impact of Competition on Newspaper Content

In 1959 and 1960, Journalism Quarterly was the scene of a debate concerning the appropriateness of economic theory for studying newspapers. Currier argued that economic theory had much to offer in understanding the newspaper industry.! Davenport and Landau contended that economic theory was generally inadequate and inapplicable.' As with many debates, both sides held measures of truth. Assumptions underlying much of mainstream economic theory limit its applicability to the study of newspaper news and editorial content. However, modification of assump tions can make economic theory useful in examining newspapers and other media. The model of news demand presented in this article is an effort to expand on the use of economic theory by developing a model based on alternative assumptions. However, the underlying paradigm for this model, as with most economic analysis, is that people are basically rational. They act in relatively consistent ways to satisfy their needs and wants. This doesn't mean that people actually maximize their utilities, as microeconomic theory assumes; it means they come close enough to allow for prediction and understanding using an economic approach.-' Two assumptions concerning price competition and the nature of commodities